August 6th would have been Andy Warhol's 88th birthday. Over the course of 37 years of his career, the son of Rusyn migrants from Slovakia, Andriy Vargola, has turned art into a part of the consumption system, showing that any thing can become an art object.
The picture was created in hot pursuit - after the death of the actress. Warhol brought together two canvases - five dozen carelessly painted portraits taken from a photo of Monroe on the set of the film "Niagara", and another one of the same, only graphic, in black and white. Made using the silkscreen technique, "Marilyn" has become one of the main tools for turning the actress into a posthumous cult. Nine years ago, the painting was bought for $ 80 million, at the beginning of the decade, the canvas appeared in British gallery Tate.
In the same year that the Marilyn Diptych was made, Warhol took up his favorite food - Campbell's soups. He began to record cans of soup in large quantities, explaining that he works with what he personally likes. Most famous variant, a large can with a can opener, went at auction for $ 24 million - this happened after the death of the artist. Surely Andy would be very surprised at such a price, since he himself sold paintings with cans of $ 100.
On June 3, 1968, Valerie Solanas, who previously worked with Warhol as an actress, appeared at his "Factory" and fired three bullets into his stomach. Having survived clinical death, Andy, however, did not testify against Solanas. Very afraid of pain, illness and death, and at the same time very interested in these topics, after the assassination attempt, the artist almost completely focused on them. "Pistol", created a decade and a half after the incident, shows a copy of the weapon from which Solanas fired. Perhaps Warhol was trying to face fear in this way.
Warhol in the second half of the 60s became the producer of the Velvet Underground. Producing consisted of PR - promotion of information about the group among the right people and media. Warhol made the main contribution to the Lou Reed team by drawing the cover debut album. Banana, Andy's signature, three words - Peel slowly and see - the album sleeve looked great. At first, in the first pressing of the disc, the Velvet Underground were conceptual with might and main, offering to pick the same yellow banana glued on the envelope in order to find another one under it - pink and peeled.
Most of all Andy, according to him own confession loved money. It would be strange if Warhol did not transfer this love to the canvas. In the process of creating the picture, Andy used to print his drawings of banknotes on tracing paper, under which he placed one and two dollar bills. 47 years later, in 2009, "200 one-dollar bills" became a lot at Sotheby's auction in New York. The auctioneers planned that the painting would go for a maximum of $ 12 million, but were, to put it mildly, pleasantly surprised when demand dispersed the price of the lot to $ 43.7 million. "Art is a profit if it sells well," Andy argued.He was right, it seems.
Made 15 years before the death of the King of Rock and Roll, the painting is the most expensive work of the artist. In 2008, it was put up for auction by the Italian collector Annibale Berlinghieri and received $ 100 million, so the face of Elvis, replicated and painted in silver, became the embodiment of Andy's dream, who wanted the maximum price for his work.
If ever you have to see pictures of this amazing artist Andy Warhol, you will never forget them. Somewhere in the depths of your memory, memories of his unusual, but very vivid pictures. But not everyone who is familiar with his canvases knows about the very personality of the artist. Warhol Andy is a very mysterious figure, one of the most famous, but at the same time the most controversial. The works of this master became a bright triumph and commercial success of American pop art. Whom he just was not: an artist, sculptor, designer, director, producer, writer, collector. Even from my life this unusual artist made a work of art, creating more and more myths about his legendary person.
About the parents of the future artist
A talented person, known today to the whole world, was born on August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), in a large family of immigrants who moved to America from of Eastern Europe. Andy Warhol, and his real name is Andrei Varhola, was the youngest, fourth child. He had two older brothers and a sister who died before his parents moved to the US. The most reliable data indicate that the homeland of the Warhol family is Slovakia. Although three countries consider this extraordinary artist to be their own - besides Slovakia, these are the USA and Ukraine. But one thing is unmistakably clear - his legacy belongs to the whole world, and not separate country. Andy Warhol's parents had nothing to do with art. My father was a coal mine worker, my mother, not knowing English, was forced to earn extra money by cleaning, and also by selling flowers made from paper with her own hands.
Andy Warhol's childhood
While still very young, Andy began to get sick often. From the age of 4 to 8, he suffered more than one serious illness, among them the most terrible was Sydenham's chorea, or "the dance of St. Vitus." The boy suffered from seizures and was literally bedridden. At school, he becomes an outcast. Also, the child became too suspicious, began to be afraid of hospitals and doctors. This fear did not let him go until his death. During this difficult time, Andy Warhol played with carved dolls, listened to the radio. The mother then painted her son different pictures, gradually he himself begins to draw all kinds of objects surrounding him, as well as make collages from old newspapers. So even in early childhood Andy developed his first interest, and then a love for drawing. A little later, Warhol's mother, having earned some money, gets her son a small film projector, through which he watched stories in pictures on the wall of the room. Thus, in childhood begins to gradually develop creative potential future artist. When Andy is 9 years old, he starts taking courses artistic skill which were conducted free of charge. At the age of 13, the boy loses his father, he dies in the mine.
Warhol education
While still at school, the young man planned to enter the University of Pittsburgh, and after receiving an art education there, to teach drawing. But at the end of school, plans change, Warhol Andy enters the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He plans to pursue a career as a commercial illustrator. In 1949, he was already a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the department of " Graphic design". Studied future artist well, even was the best on the course, but did not always find mutual language both with fellow students and teachers. He has always had an active life position. At this time, Andy attends parties, concerts of symphony orchestras, and is interested in ballet.
The beginning of the labor path
After graduating from college and receiving a diploma, the young Warhol moved to New York. He, like other pop artists, begins his working career as a conventional advertising artist. The young man took up window dressing, did advertising posters, drew holiday cards, and also decorated stands. A little later, he begins fruitful collaboration with such popular glossy magazines as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and other lesser-known publications. Thanks to these magazines, their illustrator, Andy Warhol, also becomes famous. The biography of his life at this stage is marked by great rise in financial plan, however Warhol dreams of "high art".
Andy Warhole. Creation. First success
The beginning of the 50s was marked in the biography of an extraordinary artist with the first notable success. It all happened after he came up with an advertisement for shoes for the I. Miller company. Everyone liked Warhol's eccentric drawing style. He drew specially made blots on the shoes drawn in ink. It was a revolution in the world of advertising, and for Andy - the first creative success, which brought him new lucrative contracts. Soon the artist Andy Warhol begins to receive more than 100 thousand dollars a year. And 1952 is the year when the first exhibition was held, which presented his work. The exhibition was held in New York, and four years later Warhol was accepted into the Art Editors' Club. Very soon, he already begins to create his paintings, which he builds on unusual method- screen printing. So he also became interested in photography, but Andy assigned a special place in his life to fine arts.
Andy Warhol is an extraordinary artist. His visiting card
To declare himself as an artist who sees art in a very extraordinary way, Warhol was helped by a case that became fateful. Using the idea of one art dealer in his own way, Andy creates a series of canvases depicting cans of tomato soup and an image of dollar bills.
An exhibition of these paintings in one of the galleries in New York produced real sensation, and the image of Campbell`s canned food will become later than his calling card. The artist's imagination has no limits. What else will this strange young man Andy Warhol come up with? He begins to create his paintings using the silk-screen printing technique. It allows you to repeat the same thing over and over again, the same images, the same strokes. It was this monotonous repetition that Warhol aspired to. This will be characteristic his creativity.
Building your own factory
In 1963, Andy Warhol, along with his friends, decides to create his own own studio or workshop. To do this, he acquires an abandoned old building in the very center of New York, which will become his creative studio. Andy comes up with a simple, unpretentious name for her Factory. It was a kind of springboard, on which famous master created and presented their work. Warhol Andy hires a team of young creative artists. Their task is to put on stream the works of the recognized master. The factory became a real commercial enterprise, producing about 80 silkscreens per day, and this number amounted to thousands of works per year. Having established work on mass production, Andy Warhol made paintings and portraits of celebrities a symbol of pop art and artistic culture America of the twentieth century, but purely commercial. This studio has been in operation for over twenty years and was considered the craziest place on earth. Permissiveness reigned there, where they not only drew, made films, produced mass silk-screen prints, but also lived, his creative team threw parties.
About the personal life of the artist
What was this eccentric, non-standard and even strange Andy Warhol really like? His work was distinguished by courage, outrageousness, it was underground, three-dimensional, created like a film. This image of him as a superstar was open to the public, in contrast to his personal life, which Andy tried to keep secret. It is not surprising that his personality was of great interest to the public. Warhol has been at the center of the New York art scene for decades. However, in reality, Andy was a great eccentric, a modest, even closed person, and by the end of his life even a deeply religious person. Many researchers of the artist's life and work consider him a homosexual, finding confirmation not only in his behavior, but even in his work: a series of paintings and several films. Warhol is credited with such boyfriends as John Giorno, Billy Name, John Gould, Jed Johnson. But Andy Warhol also had a real muse.
This is Edie Sedgwick - a model, an actress who once got to him at the "Factory" and completely fascinated him. There were rumors that they were having an affair. They were like two halves of one whole. But Edie abused drugs, which ended her life at the age of 28. Whether Andy Warhol, whose personal life was so closely connected with this queen of Manhattan, regretted this, is unknown. But there is no doubt that she was his muse.
The Last Days of Warhol's Life. His work today
Andy Warhol was assassinated in 1968 former model his "Factories" by Valerie Solan. He had clinical death, but he survived, although he changed a lot after that. He died in a New York hospital on February 22, 1987, in his sleep. Today he is considered the main artist of the late twentieth century. Films are made about him, books are written, exhibitions are organized. Warhol's fortune, which is estimated at one hundred million, was bequeathed by him to his own foundation, which supports artistic organizations. Today, Pittsburgh is home to the Andy Warhol Museum, which opened in 1994. There are 4258 exhibits in his collection: 900 paintings, a series of silk-screen printings, graphic works, photographs, sculptures, video works and films.
If you have ever seen Andy Warhol's paintings, you will never forget them. Somewhere in the deep shelves of your subconscious memory, memories of these unusual, very vivid pictures will remain. But not everyone who has seen his paintings knows who Andy Warhol is.
So let's try to dive into wonderful world An artist and even, if not unraveling his personality, then at least feel the disturbing membranes of his soul.
It is trite to talk about where he was born, studied, lived. But at least brief information necessary. Three countries consider the extraordinary artist theirs - America, Slovakia, Ukraine. But, perhaps, one thing can be unmistakably said - creative legacy Andy Warhol does not belong to a particular country, but to the world.
Andy (Andrei Vargola) was born in Pistburg to a Rusyn family from the Carpathians. His mother Yulia Vargole was then 36 years old. The father of the future artist worked in construction company. Andy was youngest child There were two older sons in the family. Between the ages of 4 and 8, Andy had a series of serious illnesses, among which the disease "Dance of St. Vitus" was the most severe. Because of this, more often in the summer, suffering from seizures, Andy was forced to spend his days in bed, playing with carved dolls and listening to the radio. Mother drew a variety of pictures for Andy, which instilled in her son a taste for drawing. A little later, from own earnings, Julia bought her son a small movie projector, with which he could watch stories in pictures right on the wall of his room.
So, as a child, Andy's creativity began to slowly develop. From the age of nine, the boy began attending free art courses. After leaving school, the young man entered Institute of Technology Carnegie in the department of drawing and design. There the student had an active life position- attending parties symphony orchestras was interested in ballet.
The artist's work is postmodern, unrestrained, free.
"The Naked King", fashion and film
What is the secret of Warhol's creativity? Why are these supposedly simple pictures known all over the world? His work: bold, outrageous, seizing the moment, contains layers, underground, three-dimensional, created in the style of film. There is such a theory: draw something crazy, incomprehensible and you will become famous. This is the principle of the “naked king”, when no one understands the subtext, the “message” that is embedded in the work. And because of misunderstanding, it is considered high, incredible, masterpiece. This is typical for Malevich's Black Square. But this principle does not apply to Warhol's work.
Andy lived in fashion, pop culture and cinema. Even in his youth, the artist created sketches of futuristic, very bright shoes with heels. These were design ideas. The main highlight was curved lines, by which connoisseurs actually recognized the "Warhol style" in design. Fashion was his passion. Perhaps even the reality around the artist perceived through the subconscious glasses of fashionable glasses. He was a homosexual and did not hide it. Therefore, understand fashion trends it was even easier. It was in his chromosomes, in his soul.
Cinematography also constituted an important facet of its essence. The film has become a means of comprehending the world, understanding reality. Andy kept his finger on the pulse of life. This is evidenced by his paintings: "Electric Chair", "Racist riots", "Soup Kens" and many other paintings that reflected the current reality. He presented events in photographs with an unusual combination of colors, with blurred lines. Not the way everyone saw it. The artist, as it were, captures our attention, makes us think about the phenomena of everyday life, try to understand them in a different way. And possibly horrified. The electric chair, racial intolerance, semi-finished products - everything was typical for the then American society. AND simple people they didn’t pay much attention to it anymore, they were worried own life, own problems. Andy appealed to everyone's heart and it was not difficult to recognize his "message". He created mass and elite art at the same time.
Honest and "painted" pop stars
But still the most famous paintings Andy's portraits of pop stars are made in his usual "photo coloring" technique. The most famous of this series are images of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. The artist, as it were, looks into the soul of the people he depicts. And if you look closely, you can feel the whole tragedy of the personality of Marilyn Monroe. Brightly painted, with a pink face, she looks miserable. The truth is hidden in the eyes. They look from under the eyelashes somehow embarrassed, bewildered. Perhaps Merlin never found the meaning of life. And this powder, excessive paint on the face is just a mask behind which the true essence of the star is hidden, which no one wanted to see. The same with the image of Elvis. It is made in darker colors, in gray. Often the image is half erased. The singer pointed a gun at the viewer, his face is distorted. Perhaps Elvis wants to defend himself?
15 frames of a "live" portrait
It is not surprising that with such a perception of the world, the artist also created cinema. And this movie also amazed the world! For example, portraits of people. Andy shot a motionless person for three minutes, and then edited it in such a way that there were 15 frames per second. The image was slow, somehow surreal. Thus, a person can be understood, these were “living” portraits. Or a monotonous frame for 8 hours. Everything was here: color, the movement of clouds, space, even the plane flew by. But the camera didn't move. We just watched a piece of the world, how exactly in this place the morning begins, the day passes, twilight falls. It was the spell of reality. Not everyone managed to understand this movie, this is a real art house. But now, Andy is being compared to the Impressionists. When Monet also "played with color" when he painted the facade of the Rouen Cathedral. He painted the building in different periods day. And every time the picture came out different.
Andy Warhol is not just an artist, he is an art himself. He was not afraid of experiments, crazy ideas, he was not afraid to show himself to the world. The artist is not just the embodiment of postmodernity, he has done a lot to develop this trend. And let someone say that his work is abnormal, immoral, uninteresting. But those who are not afraid to break stereotypes, lay a new foundation for art, usually remain in the memory of generations. Standard, stereotyped, correct is not art, it's just a surrogate that socialist realism imposed on us. there are no limits to human potential, because we all draw inspiration from the boundless depths of the cosmos, with which we are actually connected. The "collective unconscious" is in each of us, but not everyone can fully hear this voice.
Andy Warhol is a mirror of the 70s era, the genius of pop art and commercial art. This artist has never been shy about monetizing his art. And he has a lot to learn. Today we have prepared for you the TOP 10 most expensive of his works.
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 1. Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) 1963
Sold in November 2013 at Sotheby's for $105.4 million.
Andy Warhole. "Silver Car Crash (Double Calamity)"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 2. "Eight Elvises" in 1963.
Sold privately through French art consultant Philippe Segalot in October 2008 for $100 million. At that time it was record amount paid for Andy Warhol's work.
Andy Warhole. "Eight Elvises"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 3. "Tripple Elvis (Ferus Type)" ("Tripple Elvis (Ferus Tipe)"), 1963.
Sold in November 2014. This work - one of two sold by Thomas Ammann to a German casino in the 70s - became the top lot at Christie's auction.
Andy Warhole. "Triple Elvis (Ferus Type)"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 4. "Turquoise Marilyn" ("Turquoise Marilyn") 1964.
As one of several portraits of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol, it was bought in May 2007 by collector Stephen Cohen through the Larry Gagosian Gallery for about $80 million.
Andy Warhole. "Turquoise Marilyn"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 5. "Green Car Crash" in 1963
It was also sold in May 2007 in New York at a Christie's auction for a record auction price of $71.7 million by collector Philip Niarkos, son of Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarkos.
Andy Warhole. "Green Car Crash"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 6. Four Marlons (1966)
The painting was sold in November 2014 at Christie's for $69.6 million. The work was paired with Triple Elvis at the auction.
Andy Warhole. "Four Marlons"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 7. Men in Her Life (1962)
A black and white portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, showing her with her third husband Mike Todd and future husband Eddie Fisher, was sold to an anonymous buyer in New York at Philipps de Pury & Co for $63.4 million. The work was sent to a certain Mughrabi family.
Andy Warhole. "The Men in Her Life"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 8. "Race Riot" (in four parts) 1964.
The painting was sold in May 2014 at Christie's auction for $62.8 million to one buyer who made a complete work out of it.
Andy Warhol "Race Riot"
10 most expensive paintings by Andy Warhol. 9. "200 One Dollar Bills" ("200 One Dollar Bills") 1962.
In November 2009, the painting was sold at Sotheby's to an anonymous buyer for $43.8 million. The purchase was made in London through collector Pauline Karpidas, who bought the work in 1986 for only $385,000.
the city of Springfield, Missouri.
Today marks the 86th birthday of Andy Warhol American artist, designer, sculptor, producer, director, writer, magazine publisher, founder of the homouniversal ideology and author of works that have already become synonymous with the concept of commercial pop art. Andy Warhol made art available to the masses so that people could learn to see the beauty of everyday things and understand that everything that surrounds them is beautiful in its essence. On the occasion of the birthday of the genius provocateur, we recalled 10 of his most famous works.
1. Diptych Marilyn
Diptych Marilyn, 1962
The canvas was written immediately after the death of Marilyn Monroe. Andy Warhol combined two paintings: fifty crudely colored replicated portraits of the actress and the exact same one, but in black and white. On the second canvas, most of the portraits are poorly visible or blurry. Thus, the artist managed to show the face of death that haunted Marilyn, and emphasize the contrast with her life. Now the picture is in London, in the Tate Gallery.
2. A can of Campbell's soup
A can of Campbell's soup, 1962
This painting, according to the artist, was his best job. It all started with one picture, then a whole series was born. It expresses Warhol's desire to reveal the superficial essence of things and let everyone understand that an iron or a vacuum cleaner is as beautiful as green hills or a clearing with flowers. Warhol explained his passion for painting the ordinary very simply: "I work with what I like." And he really liked Campbell's soups, he ate them straight from the can. This painting, after Warhol's death, was sold for $24 million. The author himself at one time, without suspecting anything, sold similar ones for 100 bucks.
3. Pistol
Pistol, 1981-1982
On June 3, 1968, Andy Warhol survived an attempt on his life - he received three bullet wounds in the stomach. close encounter with death, she inspired the innovator of pop art to create several paintings, including the famous "Pistol" - a copy of the revolver from which he was nearly shot. On a red background is a stencil image of a revolver in black and white color solutions. Today this work is estimated at 6-7 million dollars.
4. Banana
Banana, 1967
Warhol was a producer for the Velvet Underground. His main contribution was the creation of the cover of the debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico. It was on it that the famous bright yellow banana, the artist's signature and the inscription "Peel slowly and see" were first depicted. And the first pressings of the album were supplied with a yellow banana glued to the envelopes, tearing off which, one could find another fruit - this time Pink colour and purified.
5. 200 one dollar bills
200 one dollar bills, 1962
Warhol said: “I asked several of my acquaintances to suggest themes for my work. Finally, one friend asked the right question: “Listen, and you yourself, what do you love most?” That's how I started drawing money!". Andy Warhol, as a propagandist of everything that has a mass character, could not ignore such a familiar thing for an American as a one-dollar bill. It was in this picture that he maximally revealed the theme of spiritual and material assets. There is nothing in the picture but money. However, this work is among the most expensive: it was sold for 43.8 million dollars. Thus, Warhol proved his main idea"Art is a profit if it sells well."
6. Eight Elvises
Eight Elvises, 1963
Palm tree among the most expensive works Warhol owns the canvas "Eight Elvises", which the artist was inspired by the untimely deceased king of rock and roll. These few Presleys are worth $108.1 million. The artist wanted not only to remember Elvis, but also to reflect his favorite theme in art - the theme of the frailty of fame, the monotonous repetition of the same images and the fear of death. Warhol completed the painting in his favorite color - silver.
7. Green bottles of Coca-Cola
Green bottles of Coca-Cola, 1962
What could be easier - just to depict a well-known bottle? But this was the whole secret of Andy Warhol's art - it should be clear to everyone, and everyone drinks Coca-Cola: from the president to the simple worker. The artist made a bet not on elitism, but on mass character, and did not lose. “What is amazing about this country is that it has given birth to new tradition consumption - the rich buy exactly the same products as the poor. The president drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you drink Coke too,” he said.
8. Red Lenin
Red Lenin, 1987
From celebrities, whom Andy Warhol painted very often, the artist moved on to politicians. One of his late works became the painting "Red Lenin", which until recently belonged to Boris Berezovsky. Even before his death, the oligarch sold the work of art and "Red Lenin" went under the hammer for almost 202 thousand dollars to a private collector. Initially, a silk-screen reproduction of Warhol was estimated at 45-75 thousand dollars.
9. Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II, 1985
The 100cm by 80cm images of Elizabeth II were painted from a photograph of the Queen taken in 1975 by photographer Peter Grujon and were included by Warhol in the Reigning Queens collection. It also includes his portraits of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, of Denmark - Margrethe II and Swaziland - Ntombi Twala. The British Queen is depicted in the artist's works in the Vladimir tiara, which once belonged to representatives of the Russian imperial house of the Romanovs. Queen Elizabeth II recently bought four Andy Warhol portraits of herself for the Royal Collection.
10. Che Guevara
Che Guevara, 1968
Few people know that known version poster of Che Guevara's "Heroic Guerrilla" does not belong to Andy Warhol. The fact is that his companion Gerard Malanga created this work in the style of Warhol, passing off the work as a drawing of the latter for the sake of profit. But Gerard's scam was revealed and a prison was waiting for him. Then Warhol saved the situation - he agreed to recognize the fake as his work, provided that he would get all the proceeds from the sale.
